I’ve recently run into two people I used to know – both respected members of the Canadian literary community. There was a time when a nod from either of them could propel a career to a higher plane. Each is smart and accomplished, with a biting sense of humour that cuts to the heart of any conversation.

And yet…both are desperately clinging to the past.

On separate occasions, they said the same thing. They waxed poetic (literally) on the pre-digital and social era when ‘quality was higher’ and print reigned supreme. Translation: they understood how the world worked and were at the top of their game.

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 13 years since my Dad died – he’s still such a big presence in my life.

I think of him often and remember things he taught me that I use personally and professionally every day. I will admit that a few of those were grudging lessons. Being young and naive, I thought I knew how the world worked better than his generation and, on some levels I was right.

But on most I was wrong.

So, in honour of Father’s Day, here are some social media and business lessons I learned from my Dad:

I recently got back from a vacation in Japan. Two weeks in a place I’ve never been to before and what an amazing experience that was. (Except for a bad case of jet lag. :))

Virtually everything in Japan is different than what I’m used to and that meant I had to look at the world from a fresh perspective.

For starters, the design aesthetic is simple, sparse and inviting with lots of wood. People are generally polite and don’t yell at you if you make a mistake – important in a city like Tokyo that has the same population as all of Canada. And the country is well organized and runs like clockwork.

So I thought I’d share a few lessons from my travels that we can apply to our work lives:

Last week during the U.S. presidential debate, KitchenAid got into hot water when one of its staff tweeted a rude, snarky comment from the corporate account, rather than using a personal one. You can read more about it from Gini Dietrich.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened and it won’t be the last.

So, if you manage professional and personal Twitter accounts and you feel you have to make a mean, sick, tasteless, angry, off-colour, blue or otherwise offensive remark/joke – and you’re not a comedian or known as a snarky person online – here are two tips to think about before you press send: